The present invention relates to a rigid building component and method of manufacture, and particularly to a high quality, durable building component and an economical method of manufacturing the same.
High quality, rigid, building components, such as doors, table tops or the like, are expensive to manufacture particularly when a carved or paneled exterior appearance is desired. Of course hollow doors or essentially hollow doors filled with composition material and having plywood or similar surfaces are comparatively inexpensive, but lack the desired decorative appearance and durability in many cases. It is also possible to form doors entirely from composition material while relying upon large quantities of resin or plastic for forming the exterior surface. Unfortunately, the cost of the resin or plastic can be an objectionable factor, and the resulting appearance may be considered undesirable for some purposes.
In my previous U.S. Pat. No. 3,661,688, issued May 9, 1972, as well as prior patents mentioned therein assigned to the same assignee, a type of composite board laminate or panel board is described including a core formed of coarse wooden components provided with cellulosic fiber webs on either side thereof to form tough exterior skins, resulting in a durable and attractive product. Various caul plate inserts can be employed in forming this product for grooving the panel or supplying a desired embossed surface decoration. However, in the case of the panel described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,661,688, the panel edges are rounded and indented for greatly densifying the exposed coarse wooden particles whereby these edges are protected from moisture deterioration. This type of construction is not suitable for doors and the like where a fairly wide or thick and rigid construction is generally desired at the edges and elsewhere.